Balkankia, around the corner from Restaurant Row in Hell's Kitchen, purports to go beyond just generic Mediterranean food. As its name suggests, it hopes to encompass the food of the entire Balkan region. Their menu provides a helpful map for people (like me) who may not be sure what that entails: north as far as Romania and Moldova, south the Greece, west to Slovenia, and East to Turkey. The food ranges from small salads, called
meze in the Turkish style, through heavy stews and gratins.
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In a borough that's not particularly know for it, Hell's Kitchen hosts a pocket of good and cheap Manhattan Mexican food. Bodegas with back-room kitchens serving respectable tacos and dot 10th Avenue and tiny take-out joints shuttle burritos to the doors of many.
Guelaguetza, on 47th Street, is a fine emblem.
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As you can guess from the name, Dutch plantation owners in Indonesia invented rijsttafel ("rice table"), in order to try a wide sampling of indigenous dishes. At Bali Nusa Indah, rijsttafel ($27) comes with 11 in all. It's a great date option because (1) everyone's bound to like something and (2) tiny tastes of a lot of things provides an introduction without commitment, like speed dating for the palate.
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Talk about
crust. That's the first thing you notice about Sullivan Street Bakery's breads. Here's bakery founder and owner Jim Lahey: "The crust of bread has to do with how bread is cooked. The crust is something that forms during the cooling process. I like cooking things to their highest expression. I like the contrast of soft and crunchy. I like to taste the by-products of lacto-fermentation in dough. That's what gives a unique flavor to the crust."
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The filling of this
turnover ($3.75) is composed of three very wonderful components: fresh ricotta cheese, toasted pistachio, and candied citron. The citron is cut into a tiny dice and folded along with the pistachios into the ricotta. Just enough sugar for a faintly sweet finish.
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When we first tried
City Sandwich in Hell's Kitchen, we loved their crisp, sandwich-perfect crusty bread (from a Portuguese bakery in New Jersey), the unusual sausages they often use, and the general construction of their sandwiches: stuffed full but never overstuffed.
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At
Kyotofu, miniature cupcakes are sold in ribbon-wrapped quartets. They're bite-sized versions of their regular cupcakes, ideal for those who want a taste of everything.
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"Pas Pour Les Chiens" translates to "not for dogs," and indeed these dog biscuit-shaped cookies by Poilâne are created for humans.
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At
Bis.Co.Latte in Hell's Kitchen, miniature scones are six for $6 or $1.25 apiece. Given their size, the housemade scones are perfect for the indecisive—buttery little nuggets with a golden surface.
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Snow Clouds are made but twice a year, maybe three times if you're lucky, at the gallery of
La Boîte à Biscuits on 11th Avenue.
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